Sailing around the world on the traditional gaff rigged schooner Windjammer

We are back in Newport where we will spend this winter berthed at the Newport Harbour Hotel and Marina in the heart of the old town. Our in water berth includes shore power, cable TV, heated pool and access to the hotel facilities all at a cost of $400.00 per month. During the on season they charge $5.00 per foot per day so a very good deal for us. We are part of a community of 25 live aboard yachts in the marina so looking forward to building some new friendships. Our first project though is to build a frame over Windjammer so we can shrink wrap her with plastic to keep out the snow ....mmm this is going to be interesting.

After disembarking Tom and Sylvia at Bar Harbour in Maine we sailed down the coast to Newport with a quick stop over in Rockland and Rockport. Newport was going to be our home for the winter so we were keen to check out the place to ensure we knew what we would be getting ourselves into. The Newport Harbour Hotel runs its marina during the winter at very reasonable rates and as a result there is quite a large live aboard community there. It is also conveniently located in the centre of the old town with everything in walking distance. We had also arranged to pick up Alex and Maggie our two daughters and Alex's boyfriend Dan. The Big Apple" was our next destination and the reason the girls had made the long flight from Australia. Neither of them having visited New York before, needless to say they were very excited. We spent one more day in Newport and then continued to make our way through Long Island Sound en route to NYC. We made a short stop on the north fork of Long Island, then onto Mystic where we rendezvoused with an old friend Jay Grant from the Whitsundays and his wife Monica sailing south to the Caribbean. Mystic Seaport is one of the largest maritime museums in the US and was founded by Walter Howland who owned the schooner "Integrity", the lines on which Windjammer (nee Leanne Marie) was built. We spent a great day touring the museum and town before sailing across to Dering Harbour on Shelter Island.

The following day we had a terrific sail down the sound but then the weather turned and we had to hole up for a day up the river and off the village of Old Saybrook near the old whaling town of Essex. It is a lovely New England town and happened to have a scarecrow competition running in the Main Street. Halloween was the theme, with pumpkins at every doorstep and some pretty scary and hilarious scarecrows. The next day was absolutely flat clam with no wind, so we left early and motored 100 miles into the East River and arrived to greet Miss Liberty at sunset. We anchored just off Ellis Island on the Jersey side of the Hudson River, popped the champagne and enjoyed the illuminated grand city view of NYC. Wow, what an anchorage. The girls were keen to explore the sights and duly set off the next morning for Central Park, Times Square and the Empire State Building. We took it easy and visited the two 9/11 memorial reflecting pools. These pools are almost an acre each in size and sit within the footprint of the original Twin Towers. They also feature the largest man made waterfalls in the world. Very impressive.

Over the course of the next five days we wandered through Central Park, saw a Broadway show, explored the village and neighbourhoods of New York, sampled the local cuisine and the girls even went ice skating in Central Park. Central Park is beautiful at this time of year with the leaves turning and all the colours of the fall. The last night before leaving was Halloween so we watched the ghoulish characters transiting the subway and streets to their party destinations and parades.
After seeing off the girls and Dan we had an early morning departure next day to catch the tide through "Hells Gate" - a boiling cauldron in the middle East River if you don't get the timing right. We slipped through with ease and continued our journey back to Newport. A great 10 days in NYC.

We finally made it to Maine, a bucket list destination with Penobscot Bay and all the wooden classic schooners. We had heard so much about cruising in Maine, how beautiful it was, best cruising ground in the world, lobsters etc etc. We therefore had very high expectations.

Our next stops after Portland were the twin towns of Rockland and Camden. Rockland is a great working class town and we arrived just in time for the annual blues festival, the largest on the east coast, so that really got us into the swing of things. Camden is a quaint town just north of Rockland and draws a good summer crowd. These towns are well known for the "Windjammers" that operate week long sailing tours around this coast. We did a lot of exploring with our bikes and one of the highlights was being invited onboard the three masted schooner "Victory Chimes" by her owner the legendary Captain "Kip". Built in 1900 as a lumber trader, she now operates as a charter vessel during the summer season. She does this without an engine, as do most of the schooners that charter in the area. She does have a wooden tender called a "yawl boat" or "push boat" with a single piston engine to manoeuvre and push her around between sailings.

We again caught up with L'Hermione for Bastille Day celebrations at Castine and the majority of the "Windjammers" turned up for the festivities. It was indeed a grand site. We spent a great few days here doing some varnishing and participating in the celebrations ashore. Castine is a relatively wealthy but small town with a mature population. There is a large maritime academy here and is the home of the famed schooner "Bowdoin" which is the Maritime academy's training ship. We watched L'Hermione depart in the early hours of a foggy Monday morning and that was our cue to also make way.

We had a great sail down through Eggemoggin Reach which is a scenic thoroughfare between Deer Island and the mainland. We stopped in at the Wooden Boat School which is at the southern end of the reach. Bought some books on half modelling, (winter project), browsed around the school which offers numerous boat building and related classes and then made our way to Southwest Bay on Mt Dessert Island. We spent a few days biking around the island. They have a free bus sponsored by LL Bean which you can put your bikes on board and jump on and off at many places around the island to explore the Acadia National Park which covers the majority of the island. We also visited the main town on the island, Bar Harbor. This is a very wealthy area and summer residents include the likes of Rockefellers, Martha Stewart and other "beautiful" people.

The down side to cruising Maine is of course the lobster pots, and we encountered literally thousands of these, and I mean thousands. There were carpets of buoys everywhere, even in the anchorages and fairways. We found it quite stressful navigating our way through them. Unlike the local boats, we do not have a folding propeller or a cutter so a vigilant eye had to be kept. We left Southwest Harbour early for "down east" Maine, our aim being to reach Roque Island some 40 miles to the North East. The fog got worse as the day progressed and Cathie had to man the bow with the foghorn. It was like "pea soup" and sure enough we snagged a pot. Not having suitable wetsuits on board it was like, what now! Mmmm... try this, start the engine and slip the gear quickly into reverse and out... bingo it worked. We ended up dropping anchor in a place called Mistake Island Harbour just off Great Wass Island. We stayed put for 3 days due to the thick fog, did some fishing, (unsuccessful), and some indoor jobs. This was quite a pretty anchorage and there was another yacht about 50m ahead of us which we hardly ever saw, The fog didn't look like lifting and I was getting cabin fever so we decided it was time to leave Maine and head to Nova Scotia.

We were still encountering lobster pots in the gulf some 40 miles offshore. In thick fog later that afternoon we made our way into Yarmouth Harbour, Nova Scotia. This was a very hairy entry. We could only see as far as the handrails. The sound of foghorns and bells on markers were ringing all around us. Despite the thick fog, there was quite a bit of fishing boat traffic coming out of the narrow channel and our radar was working overtime. Needless to say, we were relieved when we finally picked up a mooring at the base of the harbour. An hour later it cleared up completely and we were able to head for shore and a well earned cold beer and some warm Canadian hospitality.

While Maine is a very pretty place in terms of the islands, boats, etc, it was not really our cup of tea. The lobster pots create an air of visual pollution and really detract from the scenery and the constant smell of the rotten processed cowhide (which many use for bait) as they bring up the pots has put us off eating lobster totally . The towns and villages are pretty but after a while they all look the same. The shop fronts with their gilded signs and tourist merchandise are copied from town to town. Even the restaurants seem to share the same menu. It is also incredibly busy with almost every harbour chock a block with boats and every available space filled with moorings for transients, hardly leaving space to anchor. Every square foot seems to need to generate an income. We have obviously been spoilt with the places we have cruised so far. Now looking forward to a more laid back atmosphere in Nova Scotia.

Our next destination was the island of Nantucket famous for being the largest historical whaling town in the US. We had read good reports about the museum and after reading the Nathaniel Philbrick book, In the Heart of the Sea, (the story of the ship Essex from Nantucket which was sunk by a giant sperm whale in 1820. This in turn is the story upon which Herman Melville's book Moby Dick was based), we were keen to visit. It turned out to be a trifle disappointing, expensive and more focused, it appeared on promoting the movie based on the above book which was to be released later in the year. After the whaling ended, Nantucket became a popular retreat for artists and a big holiday destination. Although very touristy, it is not as manufactured as Martha's Vineyard and has more of a local feel. There are still many descendants from the Quaker families that set up and prospered in the town during the whaling years.

After only a short stay in Nantucket we sailed across to Provincetown on the Cape Cod peninsula. It was early July and the weather was warming up but the crowds had not as yet hit this area. It was two days before 4 July celebrations, the official beginning of the holiday season. We managed to find an anchorage a long way out in the bay and dinghied ashore to check out P- Town, as it is affectionately called. This town was very different to anything we had encountered so far. In the 1960s, it's isolation helped spawn a thriving artist colony and in turn a very large gay community. Everyone was celebrating the recent legalisation of gay marriage. Today it is a thriving tourist town with lots of colourful shops, people and art studios.

Next stop 40 miles across Massachusetts Bay was the fishing town of Gloucester. We had a nice gentle sail all the way, right into the harbour. Another historical US east coast fishing town and the home of the Gloucester Fisherman memorial "Man at the Wheel", a 2.5 metre bronze statue commemorating nearly 5,500 fisherman and 1000 ships who had been lost at sea. There is still a reasonably active fishing fleet and it is a real down to earth town. There is a big art community here at Rocky Neck with some interesting and quirky art. We met some really lovely genuine people, and one in particular who having known us no longer than 10 minutes offered to lend us her car to go get provisions for our trip to Maine. Thanks Amanda. We spent a few days anchored off ten pound island just outside the main harbour and celebrated 4th July here. We also picked up two new bikes, it was good to be mobile again.

We then sailed north to the Isle of Shoals. These are a small group of islands about 35 miles north of Gloucester. There is an old hotel on one of the islands and private residence and a marine research facility on the other. It was a great place for kayaking and we spent a couple of days just chilling out and paddling around. There was a university program underway where they were monitoring common and Arctic terns. They had helmets and protective clothing to shield them from the terns that were dive bombing them as they went about their research. These islands were once a popular summer tourist destination for the residents of New Hampshire and Boston in the 1950's but the once grand hotel is now in a very bad state of repair.

The weather was with us and we had a great sail 50 miles north to Portland Maine. We tied up in Dimillios marina, took on some fuel and water and then anchored off Fish Point not far from the abandoned Fort Gorges that lies at the entrance to Casco Ba . We had trouble setting the anchor and it took a few goes to get settled in. Next day we took the bikes ashore and cycled around the city. Portland is Maine's largest city. It is a charming and stylish city with great bars and coffee shops along the brick sidewalks and cobblestone streets in the old port district. The reason we stopped in Portland was that we had considered spending the winter here after recommendations from a friend, however on talking to the locals about the freezing winter the previous year we decided further south would be better.

We left Ft Lauderdale on a bright sunny day with not much wind and followed the coast line for Savannah, Georgia. There were recreational fishermen in droves out on the water so had to maintain a close watch. The city of Savannah is located about 10 miles up the Savannah River, so we made a left turn and headed up river. The river is very busy and you are sharing the channel with large tankers and cargo ships heading in both directions. There are no anchorages or marinas

for tying up until you get into the city itself. We arrived late in the afternoon and there was limited space on the downtown waterfront dock where a number of boats were already tied up, however with insufficient space between them to allow us to tie up. Now if we could just get one of them to edge up a little and move the other boat back there might be room enough for us,(the other option was to go back down the river and out to sea). Hence I headed across in the dinghy to ask the Dutch cruising couple if they wouldn't mind moving... just a little. It was now drizzling with rain and they were very reluctant to oblige, however with a bit of gentle Australian persistence and persuasion, we finally worked our way in.

The waterfront is a busy and vibrant area with lots of restaurants and tourist souvenir shops. We arrived on a Friday evening and as it happened there was a Jazz and Blues Festival on the dock right beside us over the weekend. Front row seats! Savannah is a lovely southern city with lots of squares and green park areas scattered around the city. It also boasts many stately buildings and homes and monuments dedicated to the civil war and American War of Independence. We had been here 30 years earlier and really enjoyed the city and of course the famous Pink House Restaurant. We were compelled to take a trip down memory lane and it didn't disappoint. They provide a very different take on southern food. All in all a great few days spent in a lovely city with warm hospitality and good food.

The next stop was Charlestown, South Carolina. This is also a lovely city, with federation style buildings and a very southern feel. The confederate flag was still flying on the state parliament house. We anchored off the Charleston City marina and walked into the city every day (about 15 min walk). We also hired a car for a day to pick up maintenance bits and pieces and our new toys, two inflatable kayaks. We were in Charleston for 4 days but were keen to keep heading north to Chesapeake Bay.

We entered the Chesapeake Bay at Norfolk and Portsmouth Virginia, home of the US naval dockyards, which were remarkably empty compared to 30 years as ago when there were massive ships of every description.

Next stop was Solomons and its delightful maritime museum. There were literally hundreds of boats in and around Solomons, mind boggling. The museum was fantastic with the prime exhibit being an actual lighthouse that had been removed from its original location in the bay. The lighthouse had been built on 5 steel stilts which had been drilled into the seafloor with the prefabricated lighthouse bolted on afterwards. The museum convinced a drilling company that it was in there interest to cut the steel struts and transfer it ashore (free of charge) to the museum site.

The replica of L'Hermione, an 18th century French Frigate was doing a goodwill tour of the USA. We had been following her for some time but had not as yet had the chance to catch up with her in dock. She had just berthed at Annapolis for more celebrations so that was to be our next port of call. She was an extremely popular ship with the Americans. The respected Captain Lafayette sailed her to the US and assisted the American rebels against the British in the American Revolutionary War in 1780. There was lots of music (including a sea shanty band that had travelled from Marseille on their own accord to add to the festivities of the L'Hermione), dancing and French fare to be had and the town was alive with celebrations for a week. We happened to come across a bar where a sea shanty gathering was taking place with the French group as well as locals and ring ins from around the US participating in a very entertaining evening.

Whilst ashore one day we found a note taped to our dinghy which read " Hi Ashley and Cathie, fancy seeing you here. I am anchored next to you, come over for a drink, Jay Grant". Jay is an old friend from the Whitsundays whom we hadn't seen for 12 years. So a few rum and tonics later we had caught up on old times past. It was really great to see him again. After we had arrived in Annapolis we learnt that there had been a mass shooting in Charleston, at the very church that we had walked past each day on our way to the city. A young white guy shot dead about 10 black worshippers. After this shooting, it was decided by the state to remove the confederate flag from the state house.

We moved on a couple of days later as our plan was to check out New York prior to meeting our girls there later in the year. We left Annapolis early to get the right tide to go through the C&D canal through to Delaware. It was a pretty uneventful trip and not particularly scenic. The plan was to anchor somewhere on the Delaware side but the water is so dirty and shallow, we decided to keep heading south to the entrance to the Delaware Bay to Anchor at Cape May. We arrived around midnight and went inside to the marked anchorage, however when we got there it was extremely crowded with no space. There was another anchorage across the way where the tugs etc anchor but it was such a mess in there that we aborted plan A and decided to keep running north as the wind was favourable. We had just set sail but the wind continued to veer so New York was out and Martha's Vineyard was looking good. We encountered a bit of a blow on the way, but reefed down quickly and the front passed over within an hour or two. Three days after leaving Annapolis we anchored in Vineyard Haven on the island of Martha's Vineyard. "The Haven" as it is called is schooner central. There were some really beautiful and well kept yachts. It is also home to the topsail schooner Shenandoah. She had just undergone a refit and everything was being put back together to get her ready for the season. It was time for a drink ashore, so we ventured to the nearest tavern. It was just as well we had decided to eat ashore as this is a "dry" town and alcohol is not permitted to be sold unless served with a meal. Until recently no alcohol was allowed in the town at all.

We weighed anchor and moved around to Edgartown. This is the main town on the island and a huge tourist area. Lots of beautiful shops, fancy restaurants, and manicured gardens with holiday homes for the rich and famous. This is also home to Chappaquiddick Island where the "Chappaquiddick incident" occurred in 1969 when Senator Ted Kennedy drove a vehicle off the bridge into a river and left the scene and his young woman colleague to drown.

A severe weather warning was issued for our area so the harbourmaster allowed us to enter the inlet which runs about 2 miles inland from the town. There are very strict regulations about where you can and cannot drop anchor in this neck of the woods. We sat out the storm as the only boat anchored amongst a plethora of oyster and mussel farm enclosures. We raised anchor the next day spending most of the morning cleaning the chain and decks of filthy, sticky, smelly mud.